Auxiliary cleaning tool assembly and cleaning apparatus having the same

ABSTRACT

Described is an auxiliary cleaning tool assembly of a cleaning apparatus, the auxiliary cleaning tool assembly including a body part connected to a house and having at least one passage, a brush unit rotatably provided on the body part, a nozzle part configured to remove dust attached on the brush unit, and a power transferring part configured to convert an air flow of air passing through the at least one passage of the body part to a rotary force of the brush unit.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2011-0019361, filed on Mar. 4, 2011 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a cleaning apparatus, and more particularly, to a cleaning apparatus capable of providing users with the convenience of cleaning by use of microfiber.

2. Description of the Related Art

A cleaning apparatus is used to remove dust or wipe floors. The dust may represent dirt dust, a speck of dust, powdery dust, shattered pieces of substance and particles of dust that are collectable through a vacuum cleaner, an automatic cleaner, or a semi-automatic cleaner.

In general, the cleaning apparatus is provided with a brush. A stiff hair brush is used to sweep out dust, and a soft hair brush (such as microfiber brush) is used to clean a fragile substance or object (the external features of which may be easily damaged, such as furniture or electrical appliances).

SUMMARY

Therefore, it is an aspect of the present disclosure to provide an auxiliary cleaning tool assembly capable of easily removing the dust attached to a brush by use of a suction force of a cleaner and a cleaning apparatus having the same.

Additional aspects of the disclosure will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the disclosure.

In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, a cleaning apparatus includes a cleaner body, a hose and a nozzle assembly or an auxiliary cleaning tool assembly. The cleaner body is configured to generate a suction force. The hose is configured to transfer the suction force of the cleaner body. The nozzle assembly or the auxiliary cleaning tool assembly is selectively connected to the hose. The auxiliary cleaning tool assembly includes a body part comprising a hose coupling part, which is connected to the hose, and at least one passage communicating with the hose through the hose coupling part, a brush unit rotatably provided on the body part, a nozzle part configured to draw dust attached on the brush unit, and a power transferring part configured to rotate the brush unit by use of an air flow of air passing through the at least one passage of the body part.

The power transferring part includes a fan unit rotatable by the air flow of air passing through the at least one passage of the body part, and a gear unit configured to transfer a rotary force of the fan unit to the brush unit.

The gear unit may include a worm gear.

The gear unit may include a first gear and a second gear that are engaged with each other, wherein a rotary shaft of the fan unit rotates in linkage with the first gear and a rotary shaft of the brush unit rotates in linkage with the second gear.

The nozzle part may be detachably provided on the body part.

The nozzle part may include a pipe disposed in parallel to the brush unit, wherein the pipe has a plurality of through-holes that are facing toward the brush unit.

Each of the plurality of through-holes may be configured to have a larger cross-sectional area as the through-holes are disposed farther from the body part.

The nozzle part may further include a shield unit configured to cover at least one portion of the brush unit.

The nozzle part may further include a rib reinforcing the shield unit.

In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, an auxiliary cleaning tool assembly includes a body part, a brush unit, a nozzle part and a power transferring part. The body part has at least one passage. The brush unit is rotatably provided on the body part. The nozzle part is configured to draw dust attached on the brush unit. The power transferring part is configured to convert an air flow of air passing through the at least one passage of the body part to a rotary force of the brush unit.

The power transferring part includes a fan unit and a gear unit. The fan unit may be configured to convert an air flow movement of the at least one passage of the body part to a rotary movement. The gear unit may be configured to transfer the rotary movement of the fan unit to a rotary movement of the brush unit.

The auxiliary cleaning tool assembly further includes a worm gear, wherein a rotary shaft of the fan unit is disposed in perpendicular to a rotary shaft of the brush unit, and wherein the rotary shaft of the fan unit rotates in linkage with one shaft of the worm gear and the rotary shaft of the brush unit rotates in linkage with the other shaft of the worm gear.

As described above, the cleaning apparatus according to the embodiments of the present disclosure performs cleaning without scratching or otherwise damaging a target surface of a substance or object.

In addition, after cleaning, dust remaining on a brush does not need to be additionally removed, thereby reducing the time and effort required for cleaning.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects of the disclosure will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an auxiliary cleaning tool assembly accommodated in a cleaner body of the cleaning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the auxiliary cleaning tool assembly coupled to a hose in the cleaning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a transparent assembled perspective view illustrating a main configuration of the auxiliary cleaning tool assembly of the cleaning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a transparent exploded perspective view illustrating a main configuration of the auxiliary cleaning tool assembly of the cleaning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of the auxiliary cleaning tool assembly of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view taken along line B-B of the auxiliary cleaning tool assembly of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an auxiliary cleaning tool assembly accommodated in a cleaner body of the cleaning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the auxiliary cleaning tool assembly coupled to a hose in the cleaning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, a cleaning apparatus 10 includes a cleaner body 20, a nozzle assembly 30, a dust collecting unit 40, an exhaust filter unit 50, a cord reel unit 60, and an auxiliary cleaning tool assembly 70.

The cleaner body 20 is provided at an upper portion thereof with a handle unit 21. The dust-collecting unit 40 is installed at a front surface of the cleaner body 20. The nozzle assembly 30 is rotatably installed at a lower portion of the cleaner body 20. The cleaner body 20 is formed at an upper portion of a rear surface 20 a thereof with a hose coupling hole 22, and at a lower portion of the rear surface 20 a thereof with a hose coupling pipe 23. The hose coupling hole 22 communicates with the hose coupling pipe 23 through a hose 24.

The exhaust filter unit 50 is installed at one side surface 20 b of the cleaner body 20. The cord reel unit 60, having a cord 61, is installed at the rear surface of 20 a of the cleaner body 20. In addition, a motor chamber unit (not shown) is installed inside the cleaner body 20 to have a suction motor (not shown) mounted thereon. The motor chamber unit communicates with a lower portion of the dust collecting unit 40 and with the discharge filter unit 50. Accordingly, the air discharged from the dust collecting unit 40 sequentially passes through the motor chamber unit and the discharge filter unit 50, and then is discharged to outside.

An auxiliary cleaning tool receiving part 25 is recessed on a surface 20 c of the cleaner body 20 to accommodate the auxiliary cleaning tool assembly 70. Accordingly, a user may insert the auxiliary cleaning tool assembly 70 into the auxiliary cleaning tool receiving part 25 to keep the auxiliary cleaning tool assembly 70 and may withdraw the auxiliary cleaning tool assembly 70 from the auxiliary cleaning tool receiving part 25 to connect the auxiliary cleaning tool assembly 70 to the hose 24 for use of the auxiliary cleaning tool assembly 70. In this case, the hose 24 is separated from the hose coupling pipe 23, and then is coupled to the auxiliary cleaning tool assembly 70 (see FIG. 3). The auxiliary cleaning tool receiving part 25 may be formed by sinking a portion of the other side surface 20 c of the cleaner body 20.

The nozzle assembly 30 is rotatably installed on a lower portion of the cleaner body 20. A suction hole (not shown) formed on a bottom surface of the nozzle assembly 30 communicates with the hose coupling pipe 23. Accordingly, the air which includes dust drawn through the nozzle assembly 30 moves to the hose coupling pipe 23. The nozzle assembly 30 is provided at two sides thereof with moving wheels 31 enabling the cleaner body 20 to move.

The dust collecting unit 40 includes a cyclone unit 41, a dust container 42, and a free-motor filter unit 43. The cyclone unit 41, the dust container 42, and the free-motor filter unit 43 are sequentially disposed from an upper portion to a lower portion of the front surface of the cleaner body 20. The dust collecting unit 40 communicates with the hose coupling hole 22. For the air which includes dust introduced to the dust collecting unit 40, the dust is separated from the air in the cyclone unit 41, the separated dust is stored in the dust container 42 and the purified air is refiltered in the free-motor filter unit 43 such that fine dust is removed.

FIG. 4 is a transparent assembled perspective view illustrating a main configuration of the auxiliary cleaning tool assembly of the cleaning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a transparent exploded perspective view illustrating a main configuration of the auxiliary cleaning tool assembly of the cleaning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of the auxiliary cleaning tool assembly of FIG. 4. FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view taken along line B-B of the auxiliary cleaning tool assembly of FIG. 4.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 7, the auxiliary cleaning tool assembly 70 includes a body part 71, a brush unit 80, a nozzle part 90, and a power transferring part 100.

The body part 71 includes at least one passage 71 a. The body part 71 has a duct structure enabling the passage 71 a to pass air therethrough. Such a passage 71 a communicates with a nozzle coupling part 72 of the body part 71 and also with a hose coupling part 73 of the body part 71. Accordingly, air introduced to the nozzle coupling part 72 passes through the passage 71 a inside the body part 71, and then is discharged to the hose coupling part 73.

The brush unit 80 includes a brush 81 and a brush rotary shaft 82 having the brush 81 inserted therein.

The brush 81 is formed using soft hair in the form of microfiber. The material of the brush 81 is not limited thereto, and the brush 81 may be formed using any material—microfiber, for example—that can collect dust using static electricity.

The brush rotary shaft 82 is rotatably installed on the body part 71. The brush rotary shaft 82 is connected to a first gear 121 of a gear unit 120 such that the brush rotary shaft 82 rotates by receiving power from the first gear 121.

The nozzle part 90 includes a pipe 91, a shield part 92, and a rib 93. The pipe 91 has an open-end 91 a and a close-end 91 b. The nozzle part 90 is detachably installed on the body part 71. If the open-ended 91 a of the pipe 91 is coupled to the nozzle coupling part 72 of the body part 71, the pipe 91 communicates with the passage 71 a of the body part 71, and in such a configuration, if the hose coupling part 73 is coupled to the hose 24, the air suction force of the cleaner body 20 is transferred to the pipe 91.

The pipe 91 is disposed at an upper side of the brush unit 80 while extending in parallel to the brush unit 80. A plurality of through-holes 94 are formed through a bottom surface of the pipe 91, that is, a surface of the pipe 91 facing the brush unit 80. Each of the through-holes 94 is configured to have a larger cross-sectional area as the through-hole 94 is disposed farther from the body part 71. In this manner, the air suction force may reach to the end of the nozzle part 90.

The shield part 92 extends from the pipe 91 to cover at least one portion of the brush 81 to guide dust to the through-holes 94 and to prevent dust from being scattered when dust is separated from the brush 81.

The rib 93 reinforces the strength of the shied part 92. The rib 93 extends from the pipe 91 to support a bottom surface of the shield part 92.

The power transferring part 100 includes a fan unit 110 and a gear unit 120.

The fan unit 110 includes a fan 111 and a fan rotary shaft 112 rotatably supporting the fan 111. The fan 111 is installed on the passage 71 a of the body part 71. The air passing through the passage 71 a of the body part 71 rotates the fan 111. In this manner, the air flow movement of air passing through the passage 71 a is converted to a rotary movement of the fan 111.

The gear unit 120 transfers a rotary movement of the fan unit 110 to a rotary movement of the brush unit 80. The fan rotary shaft 112 of the fan unit 110 is disposed perpendicular to the brush rotary shaft 82 of the brush unit 80. The fan rotary shaft 112 rotates in linkage with the second gear 122 of the gear unit 120, and the brush rotary shaft 82 rotates in linkage with the first gear 121 of the gear unit 120. In order for the gear unit 120 to transmit a rotary movement in a perpendicular direction, a worm gear is used. In addition, since the worm gear has a predetermined reduction gear ratio, the rotation velocity of the fan 111 and the rotation velocity of the brush 81 are adjusted.

Hereinafter, the air flow of the auxiliary cleaning tool assembly and the sequence of power transfer of the auxiliary cleaning tool assembly will be described in detail.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 7, as a power source is supplied to a suction motor (not shown), an air suction force is generated from the cleaner body 20. The air suction force is transferred to the nozzle part 90, so that the dust attached on the brush unit 80 is introduced to the nozzle part 90 by passing through the through-holes 94. The air introduced to the nozzle part 90 passes through the passage 71 a of the body part 71 and then moves to the hose 24 through the hose coupling part 73. The dust is separated from the air, which is provided to the dust collecting unit 40 through the hose 24 in the cyclone part 41, and the separated dust is stored in the dust container 42. The air purified from separating dust is filtered and discharged while sequentially passing through the free-motor filter part 43, the motor chamber part, and the discharge filter unit 50.

Meanwhile, the air introduced to the nozzle part 90 allows the fan unit 110 to rotate while passing through the passage 71 a of the body part 71. The fan rotary shaft 112 of the fan unit 110 rotates the second gear 122 of the gear unit 120 and thus rotates the first gear 121, which is engaged with the second gear 122. Thereafter, the first gear 121 rotates the brush rotary shaft 82 of the brush unit 80. In this manner, the rotary movement of the fan unit 110 is transmitted to the rotary movement of the brush unit 80. At this time, the rotation velocity of the brush unit 80 is significantly reduced compared to the rotation velocity of the fan unit 110 due to the reduction gear ratio of the gear unit 120, thereby preventing dust on the brush unit 80 from being scattered due to centrifugal force. As described above, while the brush unit 80 is rotating and cleaning the surface of furniture or electronic appliances, the dust attached on the brush unit 80 is drawn through the nozzle part 90 and then is collected in the dust container 42 of the cleaner body 20.

The disclosure herein has provided example embodiments of an auxiliary cleaning tool assembly used with a cleaning apparatus, however the disclosure is not limited to specific embodiments. For example, while the drawings may illustrate a type of cleaning apparatus, such as an upright vacuum cleaner, the auxiliary cleaning tool assembly disclosed herein is not limited to any particular type of cleaning apparatus. For example, the auxiliary cleaning tool assembly may be used in a cleaning apparatus which is not an upright vacuum cleaner. Other types of cleaning apparatus may include, but are not limited to, stick or broom vacuum cleaners, canister vacuum cleaners, and/or handheld vacuum cleaners, etc.

Additionally, the gear unit has been described as using a worm gear. However, the gear unit is not limited to a worm gear. Other types of gears which may be used may include, but are not limited to, skew gears, spur gears, helical gears, cage gears, and/or bevel gears, etc., so long as the cleaning apparatus and auxiliary cleaning tool is capable of performing cleaning without scratching or otherwise damaging a target surface of a substance or object, as described herein.

Though the disclosure is not limited to specific embodiments, the worm gear may further be configured to be self-locking and may have a gear ratio from approximately 10:1 to 500:1, so long as the cleaning apparatus and auxiliary cleaning tool is capable of performing cleaning without scratching or otherwise damaging a target surface of a substance or object, as described herein.

Although a few embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the disclosure, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents. 

1. A cleaning apparatus comprising: a cleaner body to generate a suction force; and an auxiliary cleaning tool assembly comprising: a body part comprising a hose coupling part, which is selectively connected to a hose to transfer the suction force of the cleaner body, and at least one passage communicating with the hose through the hose coupling part; a brush unit rotatably provided on the body part; a nozzle part to draw dust attached on the brush unit; and a power transferring part to rotate the brush unit by use of an air flow of air passing through the at least one passage of the body part.
 2. The cleaning apparatus of claim 1, wherein the power transferring part comprises: a fan unit rotatable by the air flow of air passing through the at least one passage of the body part; and a gear unit to transfer a rotary force of the fan unit to the brush unit.
 3. The cleaning apparatus of claim 2, wherein the gear unit comprises a worm gear.
 4. The cleaning apparatus of claim 2, wherein the gear unit comprises a first gear and a second gear that are engaged with each other, and a rotary shaft of the fan unit rotates in linkage with the first gear and a rotary shaft of the brush unit rotates in linkage with the second gear.
 5. The cleaning apparatus of claim 1, wherein the nozzle part is detachably provided on the body part.
 6. The cleaning apparatus of claim 5, wherein the nozzle part comprises a pipe disposed in parallel to the brush unit, wherein the pipe has a plurality of through-holes that are facing toward the brush unit.
 7. The cleaning apparatus of claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of through-holes have a larger cross-sectional area as the through-holes are disposed farther from the body part.
 8. The cleaning apparatus of claim 5, wherein the nozzle part further comprises a shield part to cover at least one portion of the brush unit.
 9. The cleaning apparatus of claim 8, wherein the nozzle part further comprises a rib to reinforce the shield part.
 10. The cleaning apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a nozzle assembly rotatably installed on a lower portion of the cleaner body and selectively connected to the hose to draw dust through the nozzle assembly.
 11. An auxiliary cleaning tool assembly comprising: a body part having at least one passage; a brush unit rotatably provided on the body part; a nozzle part to draw dust attached on the brush unit; and a power transferring part to convert an air flow of air passing through the at least one passage of the body part to a rotary force of the brush unit.
 12. The auxiliary cleaning tool assembly of claim 11, wherein the power transferring part comprises: a fan unit to convert an air flow movement of the at least one passage of the body part to a rotary movement; and a gear unit to transfer the rotary movement of the fan unit to a rotary movement of the brush unit.
 13. The auxiliary cleaning tool assembly of claim 12, further comprising a worm gear, wherein a rotary shaft of the fan unit is disposed perpendicular to a rotary shaft of the brush unit, and wherein the rotary shaft of the fan unit rotates in linkage with one shaft of the worm gear and the rotary shaft of the brush unit rotates in linkage with the other shaft of the worm gear.
 14. The auxiliary cleaning tool assembly of claim 13, wherein the nozzle part comprises a pipe disposed in parallel to the brush unit, and a bottom surface of the pipe has a plurality of through-holes facing toward the brush unit, and each of the plurality of through-holes have a larger cross-sectional area as the through-holes are disposed farther from the body part.
 15. The auxiliary cleaning tool assembly of claim 11, wherein the brush unit includes a brush and a rotary shaft, and the brush is formed of microfiber to collect dust using static electricity and is inserted in the rotary shaft.
 16. An auxiliary cleaning tool assembly used with a cleaning apparatus, the auxiliary cleaning tool comprising: a body part having at least one passage; a brush unit rotatably provided on the body part; a nozzle part to draw dust attached on the brush unit; a hose coupling part to transfer an air suction force to the nozzle part; a fan unit disposed in at least one passage of the body part to convert an air flow movement of the at least one passage of the body part to a rotary movement; a gear unit to transfer the rotary movement of the fan unit to a rotary movement of the brush unit, wherein the gear unit comprises a first gear and a second gear that are engaged with each other, and a rotary shaft of the fan unit rotates in linkage with the first gear and a rotary shaft of the brush unit rotates in linkage with the second gear.
 17. The auxiliary cleaning tool assembly of claim 16, wherein the nozzle part comprises: a pipe to communicate with at least one passage of the body part; a shield part to cover at least one portion of the brush unit; and at least one rib extending from the pipe to the shield part, to support a bottom surface of the shield part.
 18. The auxiliary cleaning tool assembly of claim 17, wherein a bottom surface of the pipe has a plurality of through-holes facing toward the brush unit, and each of the plurality of through-holes have a larger cross-sectional area as the through-holes are disposed farther from the body part.
 19. The auxiliary cleaning tool assembly of claim 16, wherein the gear unit comprises a worm gear. 